I have had several types of headphones and it is most definitely true that some are much better than others. The thing about a good pair of headphones vs any pair off the store shelf is in the ability to clearly hear each separate tone. Using a cheaper set of headphones can sometimes make it harder to pick out the tones. A cheap pair of headphones will often produce more muddy, bass heavy, tones, which can make it seem as if the sounds are being muffled in some way.
When I first started detecting I purchased a decent, but relatively inexpensive, set of headphones from the store that I got my detector from. These headphones produced nice sound, however they were not made with what I would call "heavy duty" materials. After a few months the cord went bad and I was left looking for a new pair. I went to a local radio shack where I saw a pair of headphones that appeared strikingly similar to the ones that had broken. I purchased them and I think at that time the Radio Shack headphones cost me around $12.00, give or take.
I immediately realized from the moment I started to detect that there was quite a difference in sound quality, despite the similarities in appearance to the pair that I had broken. The sound was very poor in fact. Everything was muffled. It felt as if I was trying to differentiate the tones listening through a rolled up sock. I hated using them and quickly began the process to find a good pair of phones that were also well made.
I purchased a set of Killer B Hornet headphones (
http://thrpro.com/Killer B site_page15.html ). These are the full tank style headphones that go over the ear, as opposed to on the ear, which helps to keep out a little more of the outside ambient noise. I wanted this style for two reasons, 1st because of the fact that a significant amount of the hunting I do is typically in proximity to heavy traffic and noise generally associated with urbanized areas. The 2nd reason was because I often had some discomfort when hunting all day with phones that rested on my ears.
The Killer B's are great, in fact I love them, but I did have a minor issue with the construction of them that caused me to send them back to the manufacturer. This defect showed up right at the start of the detecting season. I couldn't stand the though of having to wait until the headphone were repaired and shipped back from the manufacturer before I was able to get out and do some major detecting. So what I did instead was I sent the Killer B's off to be fixed, and at the same time, I purchased a set of Grey Ghost Ultimates from Souther-Treasures.
(
http://www.southern-treasures.com/gray ghost ultimate.htm )
The Grey Ghost Ultimates are really excellent headphones as well, and perhaps even better constructed than the Killer B's - at least in my estimation. The sound clarity and elimination of outside noise are every bit on par with the Killer B's.
Ultimately though, my preference is for the Killer B's. The Grey Ghosts seem to squeeze my fat head a little too tightly, while the Killer B's feel somewhat more comfortable when worn all day.
Although having two sets of high quality headphones does represent a significant investment in equipment costs, purchasing these two pairs together would cost you on the order of $250.00 including the shipping costs, but the benefit of is that if one should go down and need to be repaired, you'll still have a second pair to keep you happily detecting without skipping a beat.
Either way Killer B's or DetectorPro Headphones (makers of the Grey Ghost, Black Widow, Rattler and the Jolly Rogers) you can't go wrong. (
http://www.detectorpro.com/headphones.htm )
These headphones will allow you to hear all the treasure that your detector can find.
Happy Hunting,
Johnny Cache Hunter